The Story of B

A Must for Any Who Seek

Quinn's second book of the Ishmael trilogy, which I actually read last, is another breath-taking leap up the Quinn Ladder of Enlightenment. Both Quinn's content and his method of conveying his message boldly rise above the earlier, more sympathetic teachings of Ishmael. Charles (or B) emerges as a mysterious bearer of truth--the truth that our gut has known for years but has not yet acknowledged consciously. B has an indescribable charisma that permeates an honesty too noble for even modesty. His message is one of vision and hope. As Ishmael noted, the human race should not wallow in shame. Rather, we should see ourselves as the first culture to hold nature's most important opportunity--the opportunity to reverse a world-wide movement of destruction. With B's new vision, a new day has surely begun.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

tweak your outlook

Truly sublime. Read it, your views on culture, religion and the future of the human race will be altered. Macro-Anthropology through a Darwin colored lense, this book just makes too much sense. One recommendation, as you read the book, skip back and read the short lectures as they are referred too. Makes for better reading. Read and spread the word, You Are B.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Want to see the w?orld differently?

The Story Of B in its own unique way has done what Ishmael and My Ishmael has done for me, CHANGE MY MIND ABOUT OUR CULTURE. Daniel Quinn's work has changed the way I see the world, and the way I live my life. Quinns work are tools to save the world. Give B a read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This Book Should be Manditory for Life

There is nothing I could simply say about this book that could come close to giving it justice. I read Ishmael and My Ishmael before reading The Story of B, and I loved what I found there. Through Quinn's unique 'teacher/pupil' writing style, he takes us on yet another journey of the heart, the soul, and especially the mind, as the reader works thru his myriads of ideas. I can never tire of Quinn's way of writing, so each of his books can be read again and again with new things popping out at you every time. This book - along with all Daniel Quinn books - is among my most treasured stepping-stones this lifetime. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves life, and thinks there just might be more to love. Starr

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

mr. quinn does it again

this is by far my favorite novel ever written.... it shakes the foundations of your perception of the world we live in... reading this book (or any of quinn's novels) is to change your life forever

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful and relevant---a must read

I can't reccomend reading this book enough--it's funny, suspenceful, relevant and deeply beautiful in it's vision of life and the changes to come. If you care about humanity's future and the future of your grandchildren, it's a must read. Than, pass it on.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WARNING: May Change Your Life

This book changed my life - suddenly my life's anguish, the unarticulated frustration and suspicion that had been bothering me, was given form and reason. Since my days as an English major in college 20 years ago I have read a great many books. This one is truly deserving of the term 'revolutionary.'

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

From believing cultural myths to knowing natural laws

This is the second of Quinn's books. It is thus a deepening of the issues discussed in Ishmael. In my opinion, this is the book that is the most fun to read, as it was written as a thriller. However, I think Quinn went too fast in writing it, and his arguments are not as strong and as developed as they should be. It nevertheless remains a must-read if you liked the first book. The main point of this novel is to make us focus on the issue of population growth. Indeed, it might be surprising to most of us that the human population is now doubling every thirty five years. It undeniably represents a very big problem because, as the Earth's resources are limited, we might not be able to support many more mouths to feed and accomodate. Our present understanding of population growth is that we need to generate more food in order to keep up with this incredible population growth. However, nobody really asks the most important question: Why is this poluation growing so fast suddenly, when it used to grow only very very slowly just a few thousand years ago? Quinn, who works in collaboration with Dr. Alan Thornhill in the Natural Sciences Department at Rice University, proposed an interesting point: We have been confusing the cause for the consequence the whole time! Indeed, making the comparison with the arm race during the Cold War, Quinn makes us aware that people are made of food, and that there would not be more people if there was not more food. Therefore, we are the ones fueling this incredible population growth by creating more food than we really need! This is very logical in terms of natural negative feedback loops that we find in the wild; that is, generally animals eat their food, which by consequence decreases, which leads to a decrease in population, leading to an increase in food, an increase in population, a decrease in food...etc... However, humans have extracted themselves from this negative feedback loop, which promotes balance, and have created a positive feedback loop, which is drawing us toward the collapse of the fragile equilibrium of the web of life. Quinn then moves on to make the distinction between salvationist religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam), whose followers are passively waiting for a miraculous Savior to come fix all our problems, and anismists, who are people who are aware of the laws of nature and lead their life in accordance to them. Thus, Quinn explains that when humans decided to 'take their life in their own hands' they tried to design laws from scratch, which proved to be a disaster. Indeed, if natural laws evolved over many million years so that they reflect what 'works,' humans have been focusing on what is 'forbidden' to do. In consequence, humans have faced great difficulties in trying to prevent people from doing what is forbidden, leading to the incredible mess of our present judicial system, as well as rebellious acts from the youngs who feel pressured to conform, so that we are now facing a cultural collapse of values. Quinn nevertheless ends the book on a note of optimism, as he says that instead of trying to implement new programs that never work to fight our social problems, we should instead adopt a new vision of human life within the entire community of life, so that people get more of what they really want (a sense of belongingness and fulfillment, for example) and stop acting crazy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A book about profound, familiar human change-

This book is outstanding not so much in its narrative story or even prose style, but in its teachings- which is the purpose for the book. After reading it, you will think about it on a daily basis whether you want to or not. It is a pleasure and an opportunity in itself.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

Excellent read for someone who wishes to better understand the world around us.

Inspiring

Absolutely wonderful...I almost can't describe the breathtaking impact it's made on my life, my choices and thought process-except that it is quite phenominal! This book has shaped my way of belief and spirituality in a way I never could have imagined.

Mind blowing

This book was amazing. I couldn't put it down and five years later I am still quoting the book almost daily. Remember - there is no one right way to live. If there is anything Quinn has given me it's permission to be different and permission to tell others it's ok too.

great mind-changing book!

this book is truly great, gets you thinking, might even bring to words many of the things you are thinking yourself.... must read.

good imagination

Quinn obviously has a very good imagination, but if you're looking for a new philosophy of life or something that is of any value beyond interesting mythology, you really should spend your time elsewhere.

This book will open your eyes!

Worried about the future of the human race? Then you must read this book. I can't say enough about this story, so I'll just leave it at this. Read it!

The mighty Quinn does it again.

This is one of the most incredible books you will EVER read. It will change the way you look at yourself and everything around you. It's time to take off the obscuring lense that Mother Culture draped over your eyes. This book is a MUST read!

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